Sullivan firefighters see old Aladdin Hotel as ideal controlled-burn site

Saturday

Aug 17, 2013 at 2:00 AM

WOODBOURNE — The remnants of the Aladdin Hotel would seem to have little value to anyone, except Sullivan County firefighters.

Leonard Sparks

WOODBOURNE — The remnants of the Aladdin Hotel would seem to have little value to anyone, except Sullivan County firefighters.

The Woodbourne Fire Department is negotiating with Camp Briche Moshe, the owners of a large complex that includes the Aladdin, to do a controlled burn of the lone remaining main building of the once-popular Borscht Belt-era resort next month.

Torching the building will be a chance for Briche Moshe to clear the space to make way for new development. For firefighters, it will be a coveted opportunity to train on fighting an actual fire, said John Wallace, Woodbourne's fire chief.

"They're looking at cleaning up; we're looking at training opportunities for the building," he said.

At one time, the Aladdin, with its Ali Baba Room, was one of the county's most popular family resorts before it fell on hard times. It was once featured in a National Geographic issue on the Catskills

The hotel was unusual in that it had two main buildings, county historian John Conway said. Otherwise it represented the kind of smaller resort that dominated Sullivan County's hotel heyday, which people often associated with large resorts like the Concord and Grossinger's, he said.

"Those were atypical hotels," Conway said.

Fire heavily damaged one of the main buildings in June 2012 and what remained was torn down. The second main building, the one slated for a controlled burn, was used as a shul for the past 10 years, but Briche Moshe just opened a new $900,000 shul about three weeks ago.

Fallsburg condemned the building last year. It has holes in the roof structure, a "failing" foundation and upper floors covered in mold, said Mollie Messenger, the town's code enforcement officer.

It was determined that this building could not be saved as the cost would be too great, she said.

Up to nine fire departments and about 100 firefighters will take part in the burn, Wallace said. They would get to practice on a ladder truck and practice other real-life situations, such as having to relay water to a fire scene, he said.